The Dark Veil

What a ride! The way these Picard books fill in the narrative of the TV show is great. I enjoyed reading novels 20-25 years ago, but those were stand alone stories that didn't and couldn't add depth to the story on the screen, for the most part. Where The Last Best Hope was a direct tie-in, this one is a bit farther removed, as Riker and Troi are not central to the Picard storyline. It does carry the tone and overall direction of the story of the Picard series. I think if it didn't, it would be quite disappointing.

What I liked about this book:
- The story. Swallow creates a fantastic mystery and uses the mystery of the Romulan culture to his advantage in the mystery.
- The characters. There isn't much you can do with Riker and Troi except represent them in a way that is true to their presentation on the show. This he does. However, I liked the main Romulan characters. Swallow continues to show nuance in the Romulan culture, rather than displaying them as a one dimensional, militaristic culture.
- Not all the questions get answered. Just like the show, there are some questions that don't get answered, leaving room for me to contemplate the possibilities.

Here are my thoughts.

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2021/02/review-star-trek-picard-dark-veil.html